peanut butter

[emmabee]

Allergies aside, what do people reckon on peanut butter as a nutritious food? have just discovered that 13mo ds likes it (tends to suck it off the toast, but never mind), & as he doesn't like other 'quick fix' foods such as baked beans or eggs I was pleased - until I started worrying it wasn't very good for him.

BTW, I use the organic WholeEarth sugar-free sort. Also he gets lots of home-cooked food.

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mmmm...peanut butter...on thick white toast, with butter AS WELL...and maybe a smidgin of marmite under the peanut butter...gah!

peabut

emmabee, I believe peanuts aren't a nut as such - not sure what they are instead mind you!

Allergies aside they are a great source of protein, like baked beans; peanut butter on wholemeal bread, plus an apple or a banana, and a glass of milk too if poss, or orange juice, is a perfect meal. I think if you first give it past 1 year old it should be OK. (I tended to give it to mine a bit early and we got some eczema/asthma which may have been connected.)

Peanut butter - YUK!

Have a look at this site . There really is a site for everything!

And yes, SueW, according to the Peanut Institute:

"Peanuts, along with beans and peas, belong to the single plant family, Leguminosae. Legumes are edible seeds enclosed in pods. As a group, they provide the best source of concentrated protein in the plant kingdom. While their physical structure and nutritional benefits more closely resemble that of other legumes, their use in diets and cuisines more closely resembles that of nuts."

I wonder why people don't get allergic reactions to peas and beans then?

bought some even though I agree with Sobernow - double yuk! - and dd said yuk too!

Agree, it's nutritious, esp if you're using Whole Earth. I know the advice is not before 5 for peanuts or any nuts (although know that peanuts are legumes, not nuts) but I would give it a go earlier, carefully but bearing in mind robinw's suggestions. Think I gave it at 1 -ish.

hello
There are two issues about the age to give nuts - one is the allergy thing, the other is about the risk of inhaling whole nuts. The 5 yr age limit I thought related to the latter, I haven't read anywhere that you should avoid all nut products until then.
I've been giving ds (10 montsh) hazelnut butter - available from whole food shops, you can get cashew nut too - its not guaranteed 100% peanut free but must be rather less allergenic than the real thing. And it tastes good! I suppose I will introduce pb after one year - we don't have any family history, but peanut allergy is a scary thing.

Why had no-one ever heard of peanut allergy when I was a kid (in the 70s). Was it around and just more rare? Has this kind of allery increased?

I think its OK if you don't have a history of allergies. My ds (3) loves it and is handy as a standby if he doesn't fancy his 'proper' dinner.

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Oh robinw, your earlier post has worried me! I thought that if they didn't have a reaction 1st time it meant they weren't allergic... there's no family history of allergies though.

I personally love peanut butter - no additional dairy butter, with either bananas or a sharpish jam. Yum.

No - As I understand it, you will not have a reaction the first time you encounter something (eg you won't be allergic to cats when you meet one for the very first time). It's how your immune system deals with that first encounter that sets you up for allergies. It's the second and subsequent encounters that trigger an allergic reaction as the immune system tries to deal with something it has wrongly or over enthusiastically identified as "dangerous".

Even if you didn't get a reaction the first time, you should be alert the next time your child has something. For example, DS1 (3 1/2) has just this very minute eaten something (I assume) that has made his top lip swell up. I have absolutely no idea what it was and he doesn't know, he's never had a reaction to anything before and there is no real history of allergies. We don't have any common allergens lurking in his reach or anything that I can think of that he's not had a hundred times before. I've given him a double dose of Piriton, some Calpol and sent him to sit quietly on the sofa - he's fine.

Of course, your child can become sensitised to something like peanuts/eggs without you knowing as they seem to crop up everywhere.

My daughter had been eating nuts all her life, adored pistachios and cashews - her favourites and nutella, and at 11 years old slumped across the table with an allergic reation. She did this three times, each wekend on the trot, blu light to A&E util they decided she had a nut allergy. The consultant has never bothered with testing her, he says her reaction was sufficient to confirm it!

As a follow up to my post below, I've now found out what DS1 is allergic to - apparently it's having his lip rubbed by DS2 with an emery board. Why did he not tell me this in the first place???!

What little darlings they are, soupdragon!

(Not just yours - everybody's!)

Ace soupdragon!

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Some allergies don't show up until adulthood. I ate squid all my life without problems until right around when I turned 30. I had some squid for dinner, went to bed a little itchy and woke up the next morning covered in hives with my eyes almost swollen shut. My father is allergic to squid and I found out after my reaction that in fact he ate squid when young, and only developed the allergy around when he turned 30.